Chills & Thrills

Investigating things that go bump in the night

[melindaabram]

Blog Post #8

This class has opened a whole new door for me when it comes to viewing horror movies. Thinking of the uncanny and how it affects the story line and the feeling you have when watching the film. What I found so interesting is how horror films feeds off the fears of society and the events happening during that time period. For example “Freaks” was released in 1932 during a time when men are coming back from war and they are extremely disfigured. Having a movie that highlighted disfigurements helped people face their fears, but it also feed off of their fears. One thing that really stands out to me is the horror of today and how this idea of horror films feeding off present fears still exists. Fore example “The Purge” this movie plays off the fear of crime, and government control. We have always been afraid of the government having to much control. This class has been able to show me a different way to look at horror and the uncanny. I would say it has enlightened me but it has also ruined horror movies for me as well. I will always be analyzing the movies and how they fit into the era they are released in.

[melindaabram]

Top photo has an orb in the middle of the picture

Bottom photo is the picture from Dave with the man standing against the lumber

[melindaabram]

Phoenix Gold Mines

Our group had a unique experience with the Phoenix Gold Mines. We were able to compare the Ghost Adventures episode to our own experiences, and the stories told by our tour guide Dave D. We learned there was a lot of misconception between what said in the episode verses what was real. We knew the gold mine was no longer functioning due to the price of gold being lower than the price it took to process the gold. It hasn't been a working mine since World War II because miners were needed to mine minerals that could be used in the war. When researching for the ghosts that haunt the mine not much came up besides what was said in Ghost Adventures. There was a double murder near the mine that is said the two gentlemen haunt the mine now. Dave explains to us exactly where the murders happened and they happened nowhere near the entrance of the mine. This begins the debunking of the stories Zak Bagan told on Ghost Adventures. We were able to play with some ghost capturing toys such as EMF readers, ghost boxes, recorders, and things that detect vibrations.

Dave was able to give us a lot of information on the ghosts within the mine. What surprised me is he would walk into the mine asking the spirits presents be known so he could make sure that they were okay, he asked to be scratched, and for rocks to be thrown. The first ghost we encountered was the ghost of Beth Miller, she was kidnapped on August 16, 1983 after she went on a jog alone. Her body has never been found but is believed to be buried deep in another mine nearby called The Crazy Girl Mine. She showed up on our EMF readers but she didn't go past the yellow light, it is believed her favorite color was yellow. The other ghosts we encountered were miners and not much is known about them, who they are, when they died, or how they died. When I was researching the mine it surprised me how the only information I found on the hauntings were from Ghost Adventures. But as we were touring it was made clear to us that the deaths that happened within the mine were never properly documented, because when they went to sell the mine they didn't want the buyer to know how many people have died in the mines. Looking at just the history of this mine it has been open since 1871 which has given plenty of people jobs, and most likely has had several cave ins.

The last thing that I found interesting was the story of the Tommyknockers. They are known to be small miners that create mischief within the mine such as stealing lunches, and tools that are left unattended. They can also cause the mine to cave in if they are disrespected. When we asked Dave about the Tommyknockers he simply says they are a folktale. They were created to keep the children out of the mine after the work day was done. Since the mine was empty children would want to go play in the mine, they could easily get lost, or simply get hurt. So Tommyknockers are just like Santa Clause or the Boogeyman, stories we tell children to make them behave.

[melindaabram]

Blog Post #7

In the Cabin in the Woods we are able to see many forms of horror exemplified through different fears and archetypes Americans have endured in the past. It is said from the beginning that the players gets to choose their fate. This film came out during the time that Americans became skeptical of the Government spying on them. I find this interesting because as American citizens we believe we are free to do whatever we want, but the we always have the fear the government has or will have to much control. In this movie we see behind the scenes of the an event these young adults are unaware of. This film also touches on Stephen King’s article “Why we Crave Horror” it “re-establishes our feelings of essential normality” In the film we hear one of the characters behind the scenes say “basic human needs disgust me”. Which I find interesting because it puts into perspective why we are watching horror movies in order to feel normal in order to fill the bad part of us that want to be revealed but it wouldn't be socially acceptable. Cabin in the Woods also came out during a time when the world was believed to end according to the Mayan calendar. I find the ending to fit into this theme of having fear that the world is going end. Since the fool lived the “Gods” were not happy and would rise to end the world. We are able to see many archetypes at the end of the movie such as zombies, werewolves, ghosts and so on. The fool and the virgin are able to survive all these, but the archetype that is going to kill them is the one of greater good, the ones we pray to, to ask for help of forgiveness. Again I feel like this fits into the world ending and the Mayans because they are known for human sacrifices as offerings to the gods. This “game” is played often and it is ok if the virgin lives, because she shows innocent. We see how the order of deaths are supposed to be. There’s the whore that dies first, is the most sinful, and then we have the athlete, the fool, the scholar, and the virgin. We can see the order goes from the most sinful to the most innocent. The most innocent is more valuable to live than the others, but if she dies it wouldn't be a big loss. The Cabin in the Woods can be analyzed in many different ways, it has a lot of underlying meaning to it that is why there are so many articles written on it so we can truly understand what this movie means.

[melindaabram]

Essay 2 Zombies

In modern days when we think of zombies we think of people dying and coming back to life to eat and pray on the living. We don't really consider or look back to where zombies originated. It is said that zombies could be linked back to the ancient  greeks, where they would pin down their dead with huge rocks in order to keep them trapped. Zombies really began to emerge during the 18th century in Haiti. They say these zombies represented the plight of slavery. Zombies are often linked to Voodoo and  Hoodoo because bokor a voodoo practitioner would concoct a solution made of many different spices, herbs and animal parts. They often used neurotoxin that is found in pufferfish, when used in sub-lethal doses it could cause zombie like symptoms, such as difficulty walking and confusion.(Editors)

When we begin to look at modern time zombies we can't help but think they are dangerous creatures just looking to feed off of humans. If we look back at the first zombie movie White Zombie we see it takes place in Haiti and is surrounded by voodoo practices. The zombies in this movie are being controlled by the living and are essentially slaves. This is interesting given that is believed zombies represent the plight of slavery. In this movie the zombies are only violent when their master orders them to do something. They are represented as soulless, uneducated creatures just as the slaves were perceived.

A more modern approach to zombies would be from the television show The Walking Dead. In this show it depicts zombies as a virus that can't be controlled. Everyone is affected by this virus and if they die they will soon turn into a zombie. This is the fear of pandemics not only in America but also throughout the world. Since vaccines have been created we have been able to combat most viral diseases such as smallpox and measles. But with zombies this is a virus they we can't stop from growing. This is the fear that although we have vaccines we are creating a super virus that we won't be able to cure. We can compare viruses to GMO plants, we have created these plants that can withstand harsh weather, bugs, and weeds. But because of these plants we are also creating super weeds that are becoming harder and harder to get rid of.

The Walking Dead not only represents the fear of a pandemic it also represents a fear of dictatorship. As the seasons go on they become more about protecting themselves from other people rather than the zombies. Dictatorships as we have seen in the past never end well, we can look at Adolf Hitler in Germany and him wanting to create a super race. Or Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, they create an unhealthy and almost an unlivable environment for their people. We can see in The Walking Dead Negan has created a dictatorship and his workers are afraid to rebel against him. We are constantly hearing that because he is keeping them safe that they will follow right behind him. Just like Hitler and Jong-Un it is hard for the people to revolt against them even if they have the numbers to do so.

Zombies are a representation of our fear of the unknown. If there was an actual zombie apocalypse how would we survive? Could we survive and rebuild a nation that is similar to the one we currently have? Or would we have to start from the beginning and have wars over land and people in order to reestablish order.

Editors, History.com. “Zombies.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Sept. 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-zombies.

[melindaabram]

Blog Post #5 The Wolfman

The wolfman is a perfect depiction of Jungian shadow. Larry Talbot is shown as a pretitior from the jump. It is shown that he is looking through his telescope into different windows looking for things that shouldn't be seen. When he lays eyes on Gwen he studies her in order to almost impress her when he finally meets her. But what I also found interesting is when Larry and Gwen took a walk in the woods as Jenny was getting her fortune told and soon later died, everyone in the town was blaming her for her death. I feel as if the werewolf represented both Larry’s pretitior side but it also represented Gwen’s promiscuous side. Although she was set to marry she still went out with Larry. She was protected by Larry and he wanted to leave her behind so he wouldn't kill her. At the beginning of the movie she is the first one to reference the werewolf poem. “Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.” During the whole movie she is very skeptical of werewolves. All the towns people joke about the mythological creature but they dont believe its real. Towards the end of the movie we see Gwen want to leave with Larry. Larry represents not only the werewolf in his life but also the werewolf Gwens life. She lusts over Larry, and at the end we see her in the woods attempting to look for Larry when she is attacked by the werewolf. But when Larry's father, Sir John Talbot kills his son Gwen is there to witness the werewolf slowly transform back to Larry. He was her werewolf and she was able to see the monster she could have become if she continued to lust over Larry.

[melindaabram]

Blog Post 4  Zombies

Zombies represent the fear of a pandemic. They represent the fear of illnesses that can’t be cured. In this day and age we are very well aware of the diseases that haunted the world early on like the black plague, smallpox, and many others. Many of these diseases were combated by vaccinations and since then the human race hasn't had a huge pandemic emerge. In The Walking Dead we see these zombies come to life and begin to eat people, in the first season those that were bitten would turn, but later we find out everyone is infected so no matter if they are bitten or not they will turn after they die. At this point they aren't just afraid of those zombies but they are also afraid of themselves. Even if they are in a safe environment there is fear that someone will die and turn and kill the rest. Zombies represent the fear of pandemics taking over, it also puts a thought in the viewers mind that if this really happened would we be able to survive? Zombies also represents the unknowns, the unknowns in the medical fields the incurable diseases.

[melindaabram]

The Beginning of Voodoo

When you think of voodoo you think it is bad, full of evil spirits and those who practice it must be crazy. We never think about the origins of voodoo. Voodoo was created in the 1600’s in Haiti, where slaves from Africa were brought. The slaves had one thing in common their core beliefs, they worshipped the spirits of the families ancestors, they used singing, drumming, and dancing in religious rituals and they believed the followers were possessed by immortal spirits. These slaves were also forced to convert to catholicism, they were able to use many aspect of catholicism within voodoo. They use a number of saints and consider them gods. Voodoo was able to grow real strong in Haiti where as in America it was suppressed. The practice of any religion was banned for slaves because it scared the slave owners. During the late 1700’s the slaves began to revolt with the strength voodoo have them. The slaves were able to expel the French out of Haiti. For those colonists that survived they fled to New Orleans. The slave population became heavily populated and they began to practice voodoo more often. Voodoo really took off in the 19th century with Marie Laveau. Voodoo is considered a religion whereas hoodoo is not. Hoodoo is explained as the practice of Voodoo. They use folk magic and practice with naturalistic ingredients such as herbs animals, and minerals. Voodoo is like any other religion they have their gods that they pray to and leave offerings for, it may be the time that it was created made it seem worse than what it is. The captors were afraid of it and thought it could lead to rebellion, which it did. But slaves outnumbered the owners and they wanted to be sure that they could control the situation.

Why do you think people are drawn to voodoo in the modern world?

[melindaabram]

Essay I: Option 1 Black Spirits

Shockoe bottom has a lot of history within its city limits. It is said that Captain John Smith and explorer Christopher Newport arrived in Richmond just day after Jamestown was settled in the 1600’s. It is said that Shockoe was once a trading post for Native Americans. It is also very well known because it was one of the largest sites for slave trading. The Devil's Half Acre also known as Lumpkins Jail, was located in Shockoe bottom this was a holding and breaking pen for incoming slaves from the 1830’s to 1865. Since it has been around from the very start of the colonization of America it is very rich in history.

When visiting Shockoe bottom there are plenty of buildings that are haunted with white spirits despite the history of the slave trade that happened within the city limits. These white spirits are the spirits we want to remember because they speak to us about our history despite them ignoring the elephant in the room. In “Ghostland” Colin Dickey says “ Why, then in a place that should be so haunted by the legacy of such a terrible injustice, the scene of countless deaths, should there be nothing but white ghosts?” (Dicky, pg 104). I find this to be a very interesting question. We tend to look at places like Myrtles plantation and the ghost of Chloe, a slave who was killed by her master for poisoning his wife and kids. Even though Chloe may have never existed we tend to look at certain events in history with a lense that will make it easier on us to face what really happened in the past. So we come back to the question of why aren’t there any ghosts of the many slaves that lost their lives in Lumpkin’s jail. We can say that it may be from the help of the owner Robert Lumpkin’s wife Mary Lumpkin. Robert married an escaped slave Mary and had multiple children with her. Soon after the civil war Mr. Lumpkin passed away and Mary inherited the jail. She used the land and buildings  to educate freed slaves and it soon gained the name “Gods Half Acre.” (Lumpkins). Could the work that Mary did to help the freed slaves show a different light. It became a place of gratitude and education rather than a place of torture and death. If we compare the histories of both the Myrtles plantation and Lumpkin’s jail they both have histories of torturing and killing slaves, but the difference is Lumpkin’s jail had an alternative story that takes a complete 180 and turns it into something that is beneficial, rather than leaving the stench of death in the air.

Coming over to America as a slave you may be leaving your family behind, or you might be separated during the auction and have different owners. These slaves wouldn't have anyone that would remember them if they were killed or died during their stay at Lumpkin’s jail. If we look at the other buildings in Shockoe bottom they are all haunted by white spirits. These spirits are most likely those of people that settled in Shockoe bottom. They are the ones that ran the businesses throughout the town. Since they stayed in one place they were remembered by those that met them and those people continued their stories passing them down from generation to generation. “Ghost stories connect us to the past, to family, and to our ancestors.” (Dicky, pg 109) Could it be that the many enslaved ghosts aren't haunting Shockoe bottom is because we don't remember them as individuals? Their stories were never told? We know of the tragic events that took place but since slaves were thought to be subordinate they were never able to tell their stories or be buried in marked graves. We don't know how many slaves died in Lumpkin’s jail so there's no way that their individual stories could be passed on, they become one ghost of the past.

Shockoe bottom is a prime example of how storytelling is a big part of history. Part of history can be lost if those stories are not told and passed down from generation to generation.

Works cited

Dickey, C. (2016). Ghostland: An American history in haunted places. NY, NY: Penguin Books.

Lumpkin's Jail. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.aahistoricsitesva.org/items/show/256

[melindaabram]

Blog Post 2 Amittyville Horror

In Amityville Horror George Lutz marries into Kathy’s family of three children. Before they move into the house the American Dream is already fractured due to marrying into a family. One moment that stuck out to me is when George talks about the children calling him by his first name rather than dad. He begins to chop wood as a coping mechanism in order to show that he is fit to be a father.At the start of the movie we see  that he is a very sweet and loving man. But this attitude changes more and more throughout the movie while he is trying to gain dominance over the household. He is trying to prove to Kathy and the kids that he is fit to be a father and he can take care of the family.At the very end of the movie as the family is leaving the house during the thunderstorm he runs back into the house to save the dog that the kids are crying about. This again is showing George is capable of being a father. The house that “doesn't have memories” pushes George and Kathy to begin to doubt everything. Kathy the stay at home mom that does all the chores begins to doubt George and sees how he is trying to prove his dominance. When she looks up articles of the murders she immediately begins to compare Ronald DeFeo, Jr, the murderer, to George. She then begins to see visions of George killing her family, which causes a rift between Kathy the children and George because she wants to protect them. The American Dream was fractured before moving into the house but being in a house with such a history caused an addition stress within the family.

[melindaabram]

Blog Post 1  Why We  Crave Horror

In Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror” essay he explains a few reason why we watch horror movies. To start he says that we are all mentally ill in some way, whether it be from irrational fears, to talking to yourself. We all get a thrill from watching horror and this is what keeps us sane. What I find interesting is as we get older the thrill of watching horror films decrease dramatically. It makes me think that its because when you are younger you see more black and white and you are attempting to escape from reality. Whereas when you get older you begin to rationalize and see the meaning behind the message. For example, “Children of the Corn” the younger audience would only see this as a a scary movie with a a mysterious character controlling the children, killing adults, and the children that would not follow him. The older audience sees how easy children can be manipulated and brain washed, and are able to rationalize the movie better than the younger audience. When we are younger we have the desire and the idea we can control everything. We always exclaim how we couldn't wait to grow up. Now that we are older and have the ability to control things we tend to pass it off as needed. Stephen King’s article was able to provide insights to horror movies and the desire to watch them that no one would have thought to mention.